It took James Stewart 12 laps to finally make a pass stick on rival Chad Reed, but when he did, that's when the fireworks started. Stewart failed to pull a significant gap on Reed right away, and as the two came around San Manuel rider Kyle Chisholm, Kyle pulled a vicious retaliatory strike on Reed. The move nearly put them both on the ground, and it put enough time between Stewart and Reed that catching back up and passing back became a non-issue. Chisholm was black-flagged, DQ'd from the race and suspended from the final round in Vegas.